Median incomes for four-person households in D.C., Maryland now top six figures

The District is now in the upper echelon of highest income states, with an estimated six-figure median income for four-person households.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released its fiscal year 2015 state median income estimates for four-person households. States, the District and U.S. territories will use the estimates to determine which households may participate in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Maryland leads in the latest estimates, as it did last year, with a four-person median household income of $106,452, up from the 2014 estimate of $105,348.

The District, meanwhile, made a huge leap year over year, from $87,902 in 2014 to $100,408 in 2015, putting it fourth in the country behind Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut. Chalk that up to the District’s strong post-recession recovery and its stunning population growth, rising from 601,767 in 2010 to an estimated 646,449 in 2013.

Virginia, with an estimated median four-person household income of $91,442, is sixth among the states.

While rising incomes may be a sign of local economic strength, the District still has a large percentage of residents living below the poverty line. As the median income grows, so does the number of families eligible for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program assistance (though the LIHEAP pot is stagnant). The standard is generally 60 percent of the area median income, which in the District in 2015, will be $60,245 for a four-person household.

The income estimates were prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau from three-year estimates from the 2010, 2011 and 2012 American Community Surveys.